The best and worst drafts of the Stan Bowman era

History and hindsight have been kind to Dale Tallon, whose fingerprints were all over the Blackhawks’ three Stanley Cups this decade, even though he left the organization weeks before the 2010 title was won.

And for good reason. Tallon, first under general manager Bob Pulford and then as GM himself, helped build the Hawks’ core largely through the draft, and he still gets much of the credit for the Hawks’ recent run of success.

Tallon was part of the brain trust that picked Duncan Keith late in the second round in 2002. The Hawks plucked Brent Seabrook (first round), Corey Crawford (second) and Dustin Byfuglien (eighth) in 2003. Dave Bolland and Bryan Bickell went in the second round in 2004, and Niklas Hjalmarsson was taken in the fourth round in 2005. Then, of course, came Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in the next two drafts.

That said, Tallon also took Kyle Beach 11th overall in 2008, a dreadful class in which six of seven players combined to play in only one NHL game (Shawn Lalonde). The eight guys the Hawks took after Toews in 2006 also combined to play in one NHL game. And who can forget No. 3 overall pick Cam Barker and second-round gems such as Billy Sweatt, Akim Aliu and Simon Danis-Pepin?

The point? A GM probably is going to have more misses than hits in the draft. But a great pick can change the course of a franchise, and a good class can provide depth, stability and trade options for years.

While Stan Bowman has built much of his reputation on big trades (for better or worse) and savvy signings of free agents out of college and Europe, the draft still matters. Here’s a look at the best and the worst of Bowman’s drafting since he took over as GM shortly before the 2010 draft.

The good

Ryan Hartman, first round (30th overall) in 2013, and Nick Schmaltz, first round (20th overall) in 2014

Bowman has said he hopes never to be drafting in the top 10 because he expects the Hawks to contend year after year. And unlike in the NFL or NBA, a late first-round pick is hardly a guarantee. But Bowman nailed back-to-back first-round picks with Hartman and Schmaltz. Hartman, a local standout, fell to the Hawks in 2013, and Bowman pounced. The next spring, Bowman gave up the second pick of the third round to move up seven spots to grab Schmaltz, a dynamic center. Within three years, both were key contributors on a team that won 50 games.

Alex DeBrincat, second round (39th overall) in 2016

Bowman traded away his first-round picks in 2015 and 2016 (Antoine Vermette paid off, Andrew Ladd didn’t) but still came away with a high-end prospect in DeBrincat, the reigning Ontario Hockey League player of the year. Other teams were scared off by his size (5-7, 170 pounds), but he’s now considered one of the top prospects in the league and has a chance to make the Hawks in the fall.

The bittersweet

Brandon Saad and Andrew Shaw, second round (43rd overall) and fifth round (139th overall), in 2011

The 2011 draft was a dream for the Hawks, with seven of their first eight selections making the NHL (and the eighth, fourth-rounder Maxim Shalunov, still a long-term prospect in Russia). Unfortunately for the Hawks, not one of them is in the organization anymore. Mark McNeill, the Hawks’ first pick of that draft, played in only two NHL games. But after him came Phil Danault (now with the Canadiens), Adam Clendening (Rangers), Saad (Blue Jackets), Michael Paliotta (in the Rangers’ system), Klas Dahlbeck (Hurricanes) and Shaw (Canadiens). But it’s hard to quibble with a pair of two-time Stanley Cup champions out of one draft. The Penguins still are kicking themselves for not taking the hometown boy in Saad, and Shaw was passed over in the two previous drafts before the Hawks finally took a flier on him.

‘‘People are saying that this year isn’t a great draft,’’ Hawks chief scout Mark Kelley said. ‘‘But in [2011], I don’t think any of us that were scouting were going around saying, ‘Wow, this is going to be a really special draft.’ But that was a good draft for us.’’

The bad

Kevin Hayes, first round (24th overall) in 2010

This is a tough one because Hayes has proved himself to be a solid NHL player, with 130 points in three seasons. What makes this one of the worst picks of the Bowman era is that Bowman was unable to keep Hayes in the system. After playing four years in college, Hayes chose to become a free agent and signed with the Rangers, convinced he had a better shot of making the team there. In fact, the 2010 draft as a whole was disastrous for the Hawks. Other than Stephen Johns (traded to the Stars in the Patrick Sharp deal that netted virtually nothing for the Hawks) and Joakim Nordstrom (Hurricanes), the class amounted to very little.

The 2012 draft class

Teuvo Teravainen perhaps was overhyped as the Finnish Kane, but he still played a key role in the 2015 Stanley Cup run. And Vinnie Hinostroza was a rare sixth-rounder who quickly found his way to the NHL. But beyond those two, the 2012 draft was a swing and a miss for Bowman. The six other picks have failed to reach the NHL, and fifth-rounder Garret Ross left the organization in disgrace after being charged with revenge porn.

Follow me on Twitter @MarkLazerus.

Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com

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